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 WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court threw out a $79.5 million award that a jury had ordered a cigarette maker to pay to a smoker's widow, a ruling that could bode well for other businesses seeking stricter limits on big-dollar verdicts.
The 5-4 decision Tuesday was a victory for Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA, which contested an Oregon Supreme Court decision upholding the jury's verdict.
Yet the decision did not address a key argument made by Philip Morris and its supporters across a wide range of businesses — that the size of the award was unconstitutionally large. They had hoped the court would limit the amount that can be awarded in punitive damage cases.
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